Monte Mayor golf club in Spain closes its doors

MONTE Mayor golf club has sadly had to close – with no fixed plan to reopen.

The Marbella club, which opened in 1989, blames ‘disappointing operational results’ for the closure and said it will now concentrate on restructuring.

“Various alternatives will be reviewed during the coming weeks in order to come up with a viable way to continue operating the course and ensure investment value,” said club administrator Peter Geerlings.

“It will, of course, be re-opened as soon as practically possible,” he added.

“Awful news. It is one of the best courses in Spain,” commented Miranda Remie on the club’s Facebook page.

“We can only hope for a swift resolution and a new owner to restore this beautiful course to its rightful place amongst the top golf courses of the Costa del Golf,” said local man Reginald Hoare.

I think most people who’ve played the course will remember this. It’s a Par 3, only about 120 yards but the tee is high up with a drop to the green. Bunker and water to avoid. Used to be a great finish if you got it right.

View of 16th Fairway

You have to climb up to the top, buggy path on the left, and fire the ball down the hill with a lake waiting for you by the green. Long par 5 I believe. Spectacular hole to play.

View outside Clubhouse

This is the entrance to the clubhouse as you drive up. The gates were locked but the doors on the right were open.

I played the course just a few days before the course was closed. That day I talked to Derek Brown, former manager of Valderrama. He was talking to the Monte Mayor manager that day. I guess it was not a meeting with a nice ending for Monte Mayor.

The former owner was a dutchman and he got financial problems. He owned courses worldwide but they all where financied by sale of the expensive villa’s. So the crises ended up his ownerships…

I believe the course has been put up for auction by the hacienda who now own it courtesy of unpaid mortgages. So far offers have not matched their expectations.

I would imagine that it would be important for the property developers to have a golf course so once the market improves we might see some action. It would take approximately 12 months to get the course back in a playable condition.

It is a shame to see the course in such a sorry state. I don’t recognise the bottom photo. Which holes does it depict?

Bernard I wouldn’t invest there because the course has never done very well or property, even during the boom years. Pretty area but too isolated, most Golfers don’t like it and many paths are dangerous. Too far from the Airport, shops etc.

Whether it’s an investment opportunity or not depends entirely on what the development plans are. The course was busy but had mixed reviews. Yes, it’s isolated but that’s not necessarily an issue. The road is now fully made-up. I used to play the course when it was an unmade road…and there were plenty of golfers then. If the plan is to change the course then maybe that would help. Monte, love it or hate it, was unlike any other course on the Costa. That made it special.

We had a word with a local at Cancelada when we were there in November. He said that the Spanish Government had acquired it because there was back tax owing.

Do you know who has bought it, Phil?

We took a trip up to have a look at the course and it was in a very sorry state. If the plan is to get it back for 2016 then there’s a tremendous amount of work needed. I’m no expert so maybe it’s do-able.

The course has been bought by a Russian individual. It has been closed since 2011 although it was being maintained for quite a while by the owners of Flamingo Golf Club ( not exactly sure why they were doing this ).I would say that for just over 2 years it has laid untouched.

I know the people that used to run the course on behalf of the previous ( Dutch ) owner and have been told that it would be possible to get it playable again by early 2016.

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